# conservatives and sociopaths **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239 "2015-07-15T16:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239/21 "2015-07-17T19:12:05Z")
Yeah, he’s probably not a sociopath and I appreciate that there doesn’t seem to be any solid evidence that one group is more likely to exhibit that behavior than the others. I must admit I get a bit Karmic pleasure out of watching him crash and burn when trying to attract the ladies; when they learn that he doesn’t really care about their interests and desires. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239/22 "2015-07-17T19:14:39Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > :::: snip :::: > > For the record, I’m fairly conservative on a lot of things…generally more libertarian…I love the second amendment…but I also love the first and all the others; as well as the ACLU So… pretty normal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239/23 "2015-07-17T19:30:10Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Echoing this - many (most) sociopaths are law abiding simply as a practical matter, not because they believe it to be “right”. Mmm… I think now that the dictators intended to hide behind the law too, it was easier to do when the party that the dictator controlled made the laws too. In their twisted minds they were (right until the end) following what the laws said. That was also a part of “following orders” and many of the followers of the dictator also believed that they were following the law; as in laws that were geared to aid in the extermination of their hated groups. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239/24 "2015-07-17T19:52:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > OTOH, one of the key differentiators between political ideologies is peoples’ idea of Us vs Them. > > A sociopath has an Us of one. The entire rest of humanity is Them; to be used, abused, and run roughshod over at will. > > The classic far out “bleeding heart” inclusive Kumbaya-singing type has an Us of all humanity. In their view nobody is Them. Everybody must be included and cared for and their rights and needs and wants considered equally. Well, it’s just as easy to imagine a sociopath rationalizing that he’s a persecuted minority of one, so he’s entitled to take what he’s owed from everyone else. Sociopaths believe they are immune to existing rules, which is something they have in common with some liberal ideologies. > [@](#): > > A pretty good argument can be made that classical liberal /progressive thinking is more the latter whereas the classical rugged individualist “my success is 100% the result of my efforts” thinker is more the former. Conservative ideologues would not make good sociopaths because of their fetish for rules and authority. They believe that their success is the result of them following the rules, and their security depends on punishment of those who don’t follow the rules. It’s a good system for an amoral sociopath to exploit, but awfully dangerous territory for them to inhabit on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239/25 "2015-07-19T14:44:38Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The classic far out “bleeding heart” inclusive Kumbaya-singing type has an Us of all humanity. In their view nobody is Them. Everybody must be included and cared for and their rights and needs and wants considered equally. Except for the One Percent. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239/26 "2015-07-19T15:00:59Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Except for the One Percent. Uh what exactly would the 1% anywhere on Earth lack that they need to be cared for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-and-sociopaths/725239.md?page=1)